Crisis Ahead!

Galatians 6:9-10 And let us not be weary in well doing: for in due season we shall reap, if we faint not. As we have therefore opportunity, let us do good unto all men, especially unto them who are of the household of faith.

As we've been watching the news recently, it seems the word of the hour is crisis! It seems everywhere we turn we hear it — it's a "financial crisis", a "political crisis" — international, environmental, spiritual crisis!

I came across an interesting fact recently. The Chinese word for crisis is composed of two symbols. They represent two words: danger and opportunity. Hmm. I like that.

When we're in the midst of all these crises, it's tempting to focus on the danger. While it's important to be aware of the danger, we must be even more keenly aware of the opportunities it brings!

God is allowing this world to be shaken a little today. Let's prepare ourselves to be a means of peace and light and strength to those who are afraid. Let's not grow weary in well doing – there's so much work to be done!

Are You Under the Protection of the "Sign"? As we continue our study of the ancient Hebrew letters we continue to find hidden treasures of meaning. The ancient word for "sign" or "seal" is the word "oht", which is spelled, "Aleph"-"Vav"-"Tav". This word in the verse above has been translated, "sign", referring to a rainbow, which signified the Lord's promise never again to judge the earth by a flood....

Speak a Word of Encouragement in Due Season! William Wilberforce led a campaign against the British Parliament to abolish slavery in the late 1700's and early 1800's. During the course of his intense efforts, Wilberforce came to a desperate place of discouragement, feeling he had absolutely no more strength to continue. In this condition he was about to give up, when his elderly friend, John Wesley, lying on his deathbed, was informed of his friend William's distress. ...

Wake Up! It must have been a bad storm. These men were experienced, hardened sailors who had seen it all at sea. If they were scared, this could have been the first "perfect storm" since Noah's flood. So they started the first interfaith prayer meeting in the Bible, each man crying out to his own god. As the ship groaned and creaked in howling wind and massive waves, and the men threw cargo overboard in a desperate attempt to save it, where was Jonah? On deck helping them? Confidently praying to His own God? Shaking with fear and paralyzed with deep conviction? No, he’s taking a nap down below......

The Sirens are Sounding! At the beginning of the recent conflict with Hamas, we discovered an app called "red Alert", which we, (along with millions of others around the world), installed on our iPhones. The app sounds an alert warning each time a rocket is fired into Israel, and identifies the city or area where the rocket(s) are expected to land. On the first day of "Operation Protective Edge" we were amazed at how often the alert sounded as hundreds of rockets flew out of Gaza. Driving with friends from the Galilee region back to our home in the Negev, the eerie warning sounded over and over again. With each warning we knew that potentially hundreds of people were in danger. And this has continued day after day for the past 11 days. Even today my phone has gone off incessantly....

How many white hairs have you been given? One day a little girl was sitting and watching her mother do the dishes at the kitchen sink. She suddenly noticed that her mother had several strands of white hair sticking out in contrast upon her brunette head. She looked at her mother and inquisitively asked, "Mom, why are some of your hairs white?"...